A Decade of Difference

The photo was taken a decade ago. A decade! I was barely into my 20s and found myself halfway around the world without a single soul I could count on aside from myself. It was months of Corn Flakes and apples for breakfast, followed by dinners of instant noodles. It was one of the most stressful times of my life. It was also one of the happiest.Australia was breathtaking in its beauty and incredibly warm in its people. The Great Ocean Road was and still is the best drive I've ever been on. Dizzy from the winding roads, the views made up for all of it. Still, the reason why Australia was the trip that changed me had nothing to do with any of that. It was all of those individuals in the photos that stirred something in me that left me as a new person.As crazy as a time it was for me, it was also an insane time for them as well. Looking back, I had it easy. They are courageous, determined and absolutely fearless individuals. When I look back at 10 years, I see that I try to live my life with their qualities. It reminds me that as far as I think I have come, there is still so much more for me to learn. I was more of me then. Full of worry, questions and dreams that I had no idea of how to ever reach.Who knows where I'll be standing in another decade. Who knows how many more of life's layers will come between the person in my skin and the person in that photo. I'm happy and grateful that my sense of adventure has not diminished one bit.